


the cold

by cabinseventy (leovaldez)



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Caves, Cold Weather, Gen, Light Angst, M/M, Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-07
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2020-06-24 03:37:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,086
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19715467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leovaldez/pseuds/cabinseventy
Summary: Jason and Leo are stuck in a cave and it is very, very, very cold.





	the cold

**Author's Note:**

> since i put this in my drafts last month, i couldn't remember if this was for **angst** or **burn** day. so here's a general happy valgrace week!
> 
> i put the friendship and relationship tag cause i wasn't sure
> 
> ( :'( sorry i got sick, i'm going to read everyone's fics later and post today as just "general" lol )

“Listen, listen,” Leo’s hands shook as he grabbed firewood. “You’re fine, it’s gonna be fine, okay?”

“Leo?” Jason shivered on the ground. “Leo?”

“Shut up. Conserve your energy.” Leo didn’t know what to do at this point. His own winter coat was wrapped around Jason, whose chest was shaking too much, and his breath was too unstable for Leo’s liking.

Festus had powered off long ago, doing it’s best to block any of the blizzard coming inside of the cave. The automaton's hard drive probably froze over and snow might’ve gotten into some grooves.

Fixing Festus would’ve been a piece of cake had Leo been alone. But everyone _insisted_ Leo needed someone because they were all worried about him when they shouldn’t have been. He died, brought Calypso back, and she broke his heart. Despite his previous actions, Leo wasn’t _suicidal_. Had he been alone, the stupid quest would’ve practically been done with and he would’ve been riding back through the Bahamas and enjoying the sun.

“Leo, Leo,” Jason moved to sit up, but Leo was instantly at his side to ease him back down. Delirious, but thankfully as himself, Jason frowned at him. “St-st-stop it.”

“Why do you make everything difficult?” Leo tugged Jason’s hat on tighter. “All you have to do is lay here until I figure it out.”

“You’re wa-warm,” Jason leaned into Leo’s touch. Leo warmed his hands and squeezed rubbed Jason’s cheeks. “You’re shaking too. Aren’t you- you cold?”

He was. In his thin army jacket and sweatpants, his body was freezing. He had given everything to Jason. Leo pulled away and lit himself on fire. Warmth flooded through his veins like a blanket, allowing Leo to so rarely be thankful for his curse.

"You're not making any sense. First, I'm warm then I'm cold," Leo nervously glanced at the fire. It was dwindling no matter how many times he tried to relight it, and going outside for more wood was unthinkable. “Don’t worry about me, Grace.”

Jason nodded sleepily. His breathing grew shallower. “Okay… I trust you, Leo.”

Leo warmed his hand and lightly slapped Jason’s forehead. “Stay awake as long as you can. If you fall asleep, that might be it.”

“But I’m so tired,” Jason sat up slowly. Maybe that was better- less chance of falling asleep? Leo didn’t know these things. He didn’t know the cold.

“I’m going to check with Festus. If I can get him up, we can warm you up all nice and cozy,” Leo’s breath materialized in front of him, and he lit himself up again. His own energy was dawdling down as well. He knew that he couldn’t keep doing this.

Leo cracked open Festus’ control panel. It was completely frozen over. He needed twenty minutes tops to get Festus’ basic engines going, but Jason looked like he only had five minutes to go.

“C’ mon, baby,” Leo murmured. His toolbelt had run out of juice hours ago, but he’s learned to always had tools in his pocket. The Philips' head trembled in his hand.

“Leo? What’s-” Jason shuddered, looking around. He reached a mitten covered hand toward Leo. "What's going on?"

Amnesia. Leo would've laughed had the wind not whistled in his ears, and Jason's confusion wasn't so obvious, and if he could feel his fingers. Crap. He lit his fingers again, shaking his hands for the blood to flow. "I'll be there in just a minute, Jay. Um. Tell me about what you did when I was dead." Maybe talking would be good for Jason. It'll keep him from falling asleep, right? Crap, crap, crap, crap. He stopped Jason from talking earlier. Leo was doing everything wrong, wasn't he? Crap, crap.

"I-I-I looked for you," Jason mumbled, breathing into his palms. "You were gone."

"I know, I know, bud," Leo unhooked the disc from Festus' neck and carried it with him toward the fire. He gave a final stream of fire towards the wood and kneeled next to Jason. "But I'm here now, okay? What else did you do?"

"Fly," Jason leaned against Leo's chest. Leo wrapped his arms around Jason, trying to offer as much heat as he could, and continued to defrost the metal. "We-went to C-C-Canada. Is cold."

"We went to Canada before. Remember that? You, me, and Piper. When we first met you. Like, the _real_ you," Leo's entire body was numb. But he could power through it. If Jason was warm than Leo would be fine.

Jason opened up Leo's borrowed winter coat. "C' mere," he wrapped it around Leo, hugging them tight despite his shaking. He fumbled with the zipper, but it can only go halfway to fit both of them. Jason's chin sat on Leo's hair. "Hurry up-p."

Leo stopped. He didn't know why. He could hear Jason's heartbeat pounding through his own coat, slower than it should've been. Not too far away, the blizzard was still going on strong. Leo had never felt this cold before. It reminded him of Khione. How was she? Leo breathed out, getting back to work. He was getting distracted. His fingers burned from the chill. 

"You're sh-sh-sh-" Jason gave up and buried his head into Leo's snow-covered hair. Maybe he couldn't feel the snow at this point. How close was Jason to the edge? "You're _shaking_." he finally murmured.

"Don't worry about-" His voice caught. "Don't worry about me." Leo's screwdriver slipped from his hands and rolled away to a dark corner of the cave. _Crapcrapcrapcrapcrap_ \- "Just keep talking, buddy. Uncle Leo's gonna get us out of here in a jif-jif-jiffy."

"Okay," Jason said drowsily. "Then we- we can go to Canada again."

Leo chuckled. His own eyes were starting to drop. He just needed a few minutes. All he needed were two. He snapped his fingers, but his fire wouldn't come. Weird. Had that ever happened? Festus' disc was almost done. Two minutes. He needed his screwdriver. Crapcrapcrapcrap. "How about we go somewhere warm?"

"New... Rome?"

"I'm thinking the Bahamas." 

Jason didn't respond. Leo tensed and shook him as hard as he could. "Jason? Jason. _Jason-_ "

"Wha..?" His breath was _freezing_ against Leo's forehead. "Bahamas?"

"Yeah, buddy, just stay in there." Leo pressed his forehead to Jason's, cradling the disc in between them. Jason was stupid- there was no way Leo's coat could give off enough heat for both of them. Leo shivered. He could do this. "I'll get you to those beaches real quick."

"Pr-pr-," Jason's lips were bluer than his eyes. "Promise?"

"Promise."

**Author's Note:**

> :') have a good day!!!!!
> 
> (probably the most leo and jason thing i've ever written because both willingly endanger themselves for the other, and leo is panicking but getting through it the best he can)


End file.
